Train to Trakai

August 10, 2015

I got up in the morning, packed up, and headed to the train station to catch a train to Trakai. Trakai is only 18 km from Vilnius, and is home to a castle, the only eastern European castle built on an island, and several lakes for swimming and boating and escaping the heat. Taking the train got me out of Vilnius without dealing with the traffic. And staying overnight puts me close enough that I can go back if I need to to deal with this eye infection. I don't think that will be necessary, as it has stopped oozing and feels better, but I'm being cautious.

I locked up my bike and went into the station to buy my ticket. I said "bicycle" about 4 times, and the ticket agent smiled and said okay. But I could see the ticket did not include the bike, so I ended up drawing a picture, and that worked. I have a few vocabulary words in Lithuanian, but my pronunciation is so bad that they don't seem to work. Except for "thank you", which sounds like sneezing "achoo".

To get my bike to the platform, I first had to get it into the station, which a flight of stairs. I took my panniers off, and carried the bike up, and went back for the panniers. Then I took an escalator down. Yes, I rode the escalator with the loaded bike. I made sure that there was no one in front of me in case I dropped the bike, but it actually worked okay. Then I had to go up a flight of stairs, so unloaded the bike again. This time a gentleman helped me carry the panniers up the stairs. He had a baby in one arm and my rear panniers in the other!

Another woman showed up with a bike, and when the train came we helped each other get everything up the steps on to the train. She was Ukrainian, named Olga, and communication was a bit difficult. There was a contraption for holding each bike that we didn't figure out, but made work. When the conductor came by to check tickets, he showed us that it is supposed to hold the handlebars at an angle to make more space, but it didn't work properly with my double wrapped bars.

It was a short train ride. When we arrived, I went to Tourist Information near the castle to ask about accommodation, and ended up going back past the train station to a B&B. This is a bit different from B&B's as I know them, and also goes by the term "rural homestay" here. It isn't especially rural, but it lets people rent out rooms in their homes, and provides economical lodging for travellers. The home owner here doesn't speak English at all (although I suspect he understands more than he lets on), and I'm not sure whether the breakfast part of B&B will happen.

It's a nice bike ride on a path by the lake to get to town and to the castle. I went back and toured the castle. It has been restored. They did a nice job. The exhibits relating to medieval times were interesting although they included a lot of replicas. The exhibits extended through modern times though, and I would have been happy to skip the newer part, but it was arranged so you walk through in a linear fashion.

I bought a t-shirt at the gift shop at the castle. I've felt like I needed another shirt with me for sleeping, especially in the dorm in a hostel, but also for camping when there is some reasonable chance of an interruption in the night. I had looked in Vilnius, but they were more expensive than back home! This one was more reasonable, but cost the same as my room for tonight, 10 euros.

I had a good dinner, and went into the lake for just a minute to cool down, and then went back to my room for the night.

Today's ride: 22 km (14 miles)
Total: 1,031 km (640 miles)

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